Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Newquay, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY), Newquay, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,354 miles (or 8,617 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Santa Maria Public Airport and Newquay Cornwall Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Santa Maria Public Airport and Newquay Cornwall Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• A 4,000-square-foot baggage claim facility opened in 2007.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
• Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.

Facts about Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY):

• The furthest airport from Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Newquay Cornwall Airport (meaning Newquay Cornwall Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,055 miles (19,400 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) is Land's End Airport (LEQ), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SW of NQY.
• Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Newquay Cornwall Airport", other names for NQY include "Ayrborth Tewynblustri Kernow" and "EGHQ".
• Newquay Cornwall Airport handled 174,891 passengers last year.
• The airfield was originally opened in 1933 as a civilian facility, but was requisitioned at the outbreak of World War II and named RAF Trebelzue to support other bases in the Cornwall area.
• Because of Newquay Cornwall Airport's relatively low elevation of 390 feet, planes can take off or land at Newquay Cornwall Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In 2006 the airport introduced a £5 per passenger airport development fee, payable by all departing passengers via an ATM type machine prior to passing security.
• In November 2008, amidst the airport troubles, Newquay Airport released their draft master plan, outlining their plans for the airport until 2030.